Hemp, anyone? An amazingly strong natural fiber, used successfully in wartime, illegal? Vermont could fund its entire “corrections” system with a modest hemp crop grown on state land. A larger crop could fund our entire social service system (there would be no need to “nickel and dime” our most vulnerable and needy neighbors). Vermont leads? Selectively, for sure. Cannabis, a weed, has many positive uses. Several states have recognized that the “illegal” status of cannabis is foolhardy and that marijuana is demonstrably far less harmful to society than either alcohol or cigarettes. The federal classification of marijuana is wrong and must be changed. Oxycontin, anyone? Or perhaps you prefer a little Lorazepam. We do have a serious “drug” problem in this country, and it may well be that history will reveal marijuana to be a solution rather than a problem. Things change. Slavery was real. The conversation has come a long way. Let’s keep it going.